South Carolina case: Murdaugh gets 2 life sentences one day after murder convictions

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Former South Carolina attorney Richard “Alex” Murdaugh has been sentenced to two consecutive life sentences after being convicted of the murder of his wife and son. Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and Paul Murdaugh, 22, were shot with 2 weapons. And died near dog kennels at the family’s home in June 2021. 

The jury heard more than five weeks of testimony from over 75 witnesses and visited the crime scene. Alex Murdaugh took the stand in a last-ditch effort to claim innocence.

The jury took less than three hours on Thursday to find Murdaugh, 54, guilty of two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon in the commitment of a violent crime.

Prior to sentencing, Judge Clifton Newman said he did not question the prosecution’s decision not to pursue the death penalty in this case, but reflected on the fact that Murdaugh’s family has prosecuted people who may have received the death penalty for lesser crimes.

Murdaugh comes from a long line of powerful lawyers in the state and his father and grandfather were both solicitors in the area.